Acater

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who provides food or supplies, especially to large groups ; someone engaged in the business of provisioning ; an individual who arranges and furnishes necessary materials or sustenance
2. One who specializes in supplying food, drink, or provisions for events ; a supplier of essential items or nourishment ; someone whose occupation involves delivering needed goods
3. An individual responsible for catering meals or arranging supplies for gatherings ; a provider of necessary resources or refreshments ; a person contracted to furnish events with required consumables

Etymology: "Acater" is an older English word for a provider of food, and it carries a trace of a much older commercial idea: buying. It came into Middle English as "achatour," borrowed from Old French "acater," meaning "to purchase." The Old French verb is the ancestor of the modern English "cater," which is why the two words look so alike. The sense of the word is tied to the business of buying supplies. Someone who was responsible for procuring provisions for a household, institution, or group was the one who went out to purchase what was needed, and over time the job came to mean arranging the food itself. The noun "acater" preserves the older, more concrete role of the purchaser who stocked the kitchen.

Synonyms: purveyor, caterer, provider, supplier, steward